Mutual Vulnerability
by IceQueenRex
Summary: There are just some things that you would do for the one you love. Sometimes, that means forsaking everything you stand for. L/Light


Mutual Vulnerability

Maybe it was the light. Not the boy, but more the result of the energy that travels from thousands of light years away to Earth. This light in particular was a hazy, sepia shade of yellow; dark and nostalgic like the memories we envision when we remember the past. Memories are like that; they always seem to take on the colour of an old movie, one that isn't black and white, yet hasn't reached the modernisation of colour either.

But yes, it was probably the light, L considered, as he trailed his fingers across the surface of the water, producing smooth ripples in their wake. One arm rested on the edge of the bath and the dark haired man cushioned his head there, as his fingers trailed lazily back and forth in the warm water that was cooling slowly in the closed, tight bathroom. The light filtered through the slivers in the almost-closed blinds, creating a paradoxically cold, yellow glow on the white tiles.

It was the light…that made Light look vulnerable.

Golden orbs were heavily lidded, as a lithe, youthful body lay, limply, lifelessly in the water, murky from an entire bottle of shampoo having been accidentally left open and allowed to drop into it. But even in that milky water, he was beautiful. Beautifully vulnerable and light as an ethereal mote of dust, light as the glow of a clouded moon, light as – no, _Light_ as…

He breathed and to L, it was a sound as soft as the breeze a blade of grass moves to, both comforting and painful.

The material at his knees were wet, as were the edges of his long sleeves as his hand continued to play with the water, loftily, wistfully, peacefully and as a source of strength to the defeated boy/man/something-in-between in the bath.

L did not need to see his face to see that the corners of Light's lips sloped subtly downwards. And he didn't bother to look up when he heard the whisper across the humid air.

"_L._"

Dark eyes followed the motion of his own hands, and still he knew, Light knew, that he heard him.

Another soft sigh escaped the boy's mouth and his drooped narrower.

Finally, L looked at Light. And Light didn't look back. And he asked him, his voice no louder than a murmur,

"How much does it hurt, Light-kun?"

And then honey met coal as slow as the fall of a leaf in autumn, as calmly as sunset and as sorrowful as the tears of the silent.

The smile he gave was so tiny, yet so wane and helplessly defeated that L's fingers moved from the surface of the water to glide up Light's damp neck to his jaw, slowly and strongly. He could afford to be Light's support. He could.

Through those smiling lips, he whispered, apologetic, his voice nearly cracking,

"Not as much as it hurt you to find out I was Kira."

L closed his eyes but never took his hand away from the boy's face, constantly cupping that chiselled cheek with an undercurrent of desperation, a will to show him that he was forgiven.

Because it was the light. And _the_, Light. A light that was dimming gently and that bounced off at intervals on his wet skin. It was the light and, as much as logic and common sense warned him otherwise, would always be the Light.

The sound of dripping water made L open his eyes to the feeling of wet hands either side of his face, pulling him closer, the boy's eyes shining sadly. The older one continued to look back at him, placidly and affirmatively. _Yes,_ was his answer.

"I'll forsake it all right now if you ask it of me."

Mutual vulnerability was a tricky thing.

"I'll forsake justice this once if Light-kun asks it of me."

Words were not needed as the pale, golden glimmer diminished completely and water was tipped over the edge of the tub, sneakers lost in the frenzy of liquid and arms tight as life-saving rope and a few lone tears allowed to escape secretly in the confusion of it all.

L and Light only needed the light.

* * *

A/N: Written for Chamyl, one of my friends off LJ. She liked it ^_^

You can so tell that I've been spending time in bathtubs just forming fics in my already perverse mind XD Lol. Please review and tell me what you think :D Oh...and...in my mind...at the end of all of this...L and Light are SO together. Neither dies. So there!

Peace out!  
Rex


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